


Chained Innocence

by kuza



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Assault, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bathing/Washing, Blood, Blood and Violence, Bonding, Brutal Murder, Brutality, Captivity, Confused Daryl Dixon, Consensual Underage Sex, Death, Dom Negan (Walking Dead), Dominant, Exploration, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Gay, Gay Male Character, Kidnapping, Knotting, M/M, Marking, Merle Dixon Being an Asshole, Murder, Neryl, Nudity, Pain, Past Rape/Non-con, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rickyl Writers' Group, Scarification, Scent Marking, Self-Lubrication, Shyness, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Sub Daryl Dixon, Submissive, Torture, Underage Sex, Violence, Young Daryl Dixon, scarred character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-01-16 12:12:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12342483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuza/pseuds/kuza
Summary: TRIGGER WARNING;this fic contains VIOLENCE, ABUSE, RAPE and UNDERAGE SEX (consensual as well as rape)





	1. I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the wonderful [FandomLifeTookMyHandAndSaidRUN](http://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomLifeTookMyHandAndSaidRUN/pseuds/FandomLifeTookMyHandAndSaidRUN/works) for being my amazing beta reader <3

Daryl sighed deeply as he walked away from the camp he and his brother had set up for the night. He was out hunting for food while his lazy ass brother preferred to stay in their tent, doing nothing except for holding his knife in case any walkers happened to stumble by. It was completely the wrong way around; Dominant Merle was being lazy as he sent his Submissive little brother out into the dangerous world. 

This is how things had been since the beginning of the apocalypse. Their parents didn’t survive for very long, hell they were gone before this thing had gone global. Ever since they were gone Dominant Merle promoted himself to being the ‘leader’ and he made Daryl do all the work.

It was a lot for young Sub Daryl and he was _exhausted_. His legs were dying and he didn’t want to walk anymore, he didn’t want to hunt anymore, except he didn’t have a choice. He was constantly worrying that if he didn’t find any food Merle would throw him into the walkers. He needed Daryl to be useful for him and provide food, or he didn’t need Daryl at all.

Because of the exhaustion he didn’t really pay much attention as to where he was going, which resulted in Daryl finding himself being lost. 

“Damn it,” he cussed to himself as he looked around in the dark; he had no idea where he came from and which direction he was headed in. It was never good for a young, innocent Submissive to be out at night all alone. He could barely see anything in the dark and that’s when he walked into something… _sharp_.

Before he could even comprehend what was going on a strong hand covered his mouth and he could feel himself being pulled against someone as another arm wrapped around his waist. Someone much taller and broader than he himself was. He struggled in the larger man’s hold, and groaned in annoyance when he realized he wasn’t going anywhere and that’s when he noticed the man’s scent, a Dominant scent. Realizing that he was struggling in the hold of a Dom instantly calmed the boy down and that’s when Daryl heard the man’s voice.

“Wouldn’t make that much noise if I were you,” the Dom whispered. “Or would you like to be a zombie’s meal?”

Daryl took a few deep breaths through his nose, as the man’s hand was covering his mouth. He calmed himself down as much as possible and shook his head; he did _not_ want to be eaten by walkers. The man’s other hand then slowly moved from his waist.

“Good,” the Dom said and Daryl could hear the satisfaction in his voice. “Now, you see this?” A bat, wrapped in barbed wire was held right in front of Daryl’s face. Fear started to settle in and he nodded, his body shivering. He’d heard of the strong Dominant man with the barbed wire bat.

“Yeah, this could do a lot of damage to your pretty face if you don’t listen to me," the man growled so close to Daryl’s ear that he could feel the man’s hot breath.

The man’s voice was low and almost… soothing to listen to, regardless of the situation that Daryl was currently in. The boy closed his eyes and nodded again, the bat looked like it had been used and Daryl did not want to be the next person it would be used on.

“Right,” the Dom said and the grip on Daryl’s face loosened a little bit. “If I let go now, you’re not going to do anything stupid? You’re not going to scream or try to run?”

Daryl shook his head quickly, as much as he wanted to scream, there was no way that he would even be brave enough. Besides, who would he scream for anyway? Merle was too far away, plus the asshole probably wouldn’t even give a damn, thinking that Daryl was caught by walkers. Merle sure as hell wasn’t going to put his own life on the line for that.

“Good boy,” the man hummed and the hand covering Daryl’s mouth was gone, only to be replaced by a piece of cloth almost instantly. “Open up now.”

Daryl obeyed instantly, and he couldn’t quite tell whether that was because he was scared or because of the fact that there was a freaking Dominant demanding these things of him. Once he opened his mouth the cloth slipped inside and was tied tightly behind his head.

“Maybe you’ll listen to me when I tell you not to speak, but maybe you won’t. I can’t take any risks at this moment, that’s what the cloth is for,” the man said and then spun Daryl around, finally giving the Sub a chance to look at the man who captured him.

The man was indeed tall, very tall. Daryl couldn’t quite make out the Dom’s face in the dark, but he could see that the man was a bit older and he could see the man’s black and grey beard. The man wore a leather jacket and Daryl could smell him really well like this, a little too well. It made the young Sub feel things he had never felt before and he couldn’t help but be confused by this entire situation.

Besides the Dom having a scent that nearly drove Daryl insane, he also smelled really nice. Nice as in taken care of, clean, showered, unlike anyone he’d ever met before during this apocalypse. No one had access to a shower or clean clothes, yet this man seemed to have all those things and Daryl couldn’t help but wonder where he came from.

Before he even knew it the Sub’s hands were tied in front of him with rope. His eyes widened as he looked at his hands, what the hell was this Dom going to do with him?

“Could smell you from miles away,” the man said quietly as he made sure the knot on the boy’s hands were secure. “Noticed you with that other dom, but you weren’t sexually involved so I’m guessing he’s family. Anyway, I had to follow you out here so I could capture you.”

The young Sub frowned, the man could _smell_ him? Smell the Sub like Daryl could smell the Dom? His scent? Daryl didn’t even know he had a scent on him, at least not one that could be smelled from far, far away. 

“Come,” the Dom said and grabbed Daryl by the arm, leading him through the forest until they got to his truck.

He had a truck as well? What the hell had he and Merle missed out on? Was there a place on this god forsaken earth that didn’t have an apocalypse happen to it?

When Daryl heard about the man with the bat it was only ever about how cruel he was, how violent he was, how much of a dictator he was and how many people he had killed. He’d never been told about the fact that the man was a Dom or the fact that he seemed to have access to a lot of resources.

“Get in,” the man spoke as he opened the door to the passenger seat.

Daryl tried, he really did. But with his hands tied together like this he had nothing to hold onto and lift himself into the truck, which was very high for his small body.

“Goddamn it,” the Dom growled and picked Daryl up, hoisting him into the truck in one swift movement and closing the door behind the boy before walking around the truck and getting in himself, starting the engine.

“You don’t look to comfortable,” the Dom frowned and looked at the young boy. He could see him a little bit better now with the lights of his truck on and the boy was as beautiful as he smelled.

Daryl was a shivering mess as he looked at the man, he could see his face better now and could tell that the Dom was indeed quite a bit older than himself. Daryl felt cold and afraid, yet somehow knew in the back of his head that nothing bad would happen to him.

“Oh, shit,” the Dom laughed a little. “Where’s my manners,” he reached over and untied the piece of cloth from the boy’s head. “My name is Negan, what’s yours?”

“D- Daryl,” the Sub stammered.

“Daryl,” Negan repeated the boy and nodded. “Suits you,” he smiled as he started driving. “How old are you boy?”

“Sixteen,” the Sub said as he bit his lip.

Negan’s eyes widened a little. Sixteen? He didn’t think the boy was only sixteen. When he’d seen Daryl earlier that day he’d thought the boy was twenty two at least. It didn’t matter much anyway, not in this world and not because Negan had been able to smell the boy.

“Why- why did you kidnap me?” Daryl finally dared to ask, looking over at the Dom, inspecting the man’s face.

“Kidnapped,” Negan huffed. “I’ll be honest with you here. One of my men spotted you and the other Dom in the woods, he said it’s probably your brother? Anyway, he left your brother a little note, saying we got you and the only way to get you back is if he provides for us. And I happen to have a soft spot for your scent.”

Daryl couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at the man’s statement, as if his brother would ever come to get him.

“What are you laughing at boy?” Negan frowned.

“My brother doesn’t give a shit about me,” the Sub clenched his jaw. “He’s said multiple times that he’d be better off without me, but because I’m his little brother, his family, he can’t kill me.”

“You gotta be shitting me,” the Dom raised an eyebrow.

“No,” the Sub shook his head. “So I’m of no use to you then.”

“I know you noticed my scent as well, kid,” the Dom spoke calmly. “Definitely not letting you go that easily. Besides maybe you’re lying to me,” Negan said even though he could sense that Daryl was speaking the truth. “Your brother has twenty four hours.”

“And if he doesn’t show up?” Daryl asked, fearing the worst.

“I’ll keep you,” the Dom grinned a little. He’d probably keep the boy anyway, regardless of whether his brother would show up or not, he liked Daryl.

Daryl stayed quiet for the remainder of the drive, he didn’t know what to say anyway. For some reason this man that had captured him didn’t seem to intend any harm to him, he was just captured as bait? Bait for Merle to come and rescue him, except Daryl knew his brother would never show up.

 

“Ah, here we are,” Negan said and the gates to his community were opened by some of his men, just the way he liked it, Daryl would instantly understand how much authority he had over these people.

Daryl’s jaw dropped as he looked around, the place was massive and surrounded by fencing that stood taller than the houses inside. It almost seemed as if an entire neighbourhood was kept safe during the apocalypse.

Negan stopped the truck after he passed the gates and got out, walking to the other side where he opened the door and helped the young Sub out. 

“You can walk right?”

Daryl nodded as he was put down on the ground but he remained quiet and close to Negan as many people had gathered around them and were now staring at them.

“This,” Negan said as he wrapped his arm around the Sub’s shoulders and pulled the young boy in front of him. “This is Daryl, he’s a little shy but that’s okay. I’m hoping that his brother will come for him so we can make ourselves a deal. If not then… well, we’ll see.”

“Alright I’ll take him to a cell,” a man said as he walked up to his leader and the boy.

Daryl’s eyes widened at the man’s face, half of it was burned which made him look rather scary.

“No, Dwight,” Negan said as he pulled Daryl even closer against him. “I’d like to keep him close,” the Dom grinned as he used his barbed wire bat to keep Dwight at a distance.

“Of course,” the man named Dwight nodded, but he frowned a little.

“So, if you’ll excuse us,” Negan said and he watched as his people made way so he and Daryl could walk away from the crowd.

“Aren’t you impressed?” Negan asked as he looked down at the Sub, still having his arm wrapped tightly around the boy.

“This- this entire place… It’s- it’s safe?” Daryl asked, feeling a little awkward but also glad that the man kept his arm wrapped around his wobbly body.

He wasn’t even sure why he felt this lightheaded, it could be because of the entire situation that he was in, but it could also be because of _Negan_. Every single time the Sub took a breath now there was just so much of Negan he couldn’t help but be wobbly on his feet.

“Mhm,” the Dom hummed. “Took us a while to get the walls up, but I can assure you not a single walker will get in. I’ve got many people watching from the towers and patrolling around the fences.”

“And all these people, they- they listen to you?”

“That they do, my dear boy,” Negan smirked. “Those who don’t… Well,” he said as he swung his bat in front of the boy’s face, “they didn’t quite make it.”

Daryl clenched his jaw but nodded, he’d already sensed that Negan was not someone to mess with, now he knew for sure. He didn’t want his face to be bashed in with the barbed wire bat.

“Takes a great leader and Dom like myself to run a place like this,” Negan said and led the boy up the steps of his house. “Welcome to my home,” he smiled as he opened the door and pushed Daryl inside before walking in himself and closing the door again behind him.

Daryl stumbled and fell over as the leader pushed him, hitting the floor hard as he couldn’t catch himself with his tied up hands. He groaned a little but managed to sit up, looking around the place. It looked very nice actually, even though it was mostly dark. If it weren’t for the lights that were on Daryl wouldn’t have been able to see anything at all.

It wasn’t a massive house, but it didn’t look small either. The living area was spacious and there was a big, black sofa that looked soft and just comfortable to be on. There were also two chairs and a coffee table, as well as a TV but Daryl wondered if that would still work or not.

He could also look into the kitchen from where he was sitting. The countertops were made out of the prettiest marble Daryl had ever seen and it all looked so _modern_. He’d almost forgotten what normal homes looked like after living in a tent in the woods and out on the streets for so long. Any houses that he and his brother had passed all looked abandoned, dusty and just disgusting as they were usually plundered anyway.

“Looks good, doesn’t it?” Negan grinned as he walked over to Daryl. “Now where shall we put you,” the Dom frowned as he thought. “Can’t have you trying to run away from me,” Negan sighed. “I’ll be right back, you stay right where you are,” the Dom ordered and with that he headed outside, off to find his two best men, Simon and Dwight.

Daryl groaned a little as he realized his arms were hurting from being in the same position the entire time. The rope was digging into the skin of his wrists and it burnt like hell. He couldn’t really get up either as he was unable to use his hands, he could only hope that Negan would return soon.

Unless Negan had something bad in mind for Daryl, the young Sub wasn’t sure what to think at this moment. Yes, he was a captive of this man, but Negan hadn’t done anything bad to him yet? The way the older man had wrapped his arm around Daryl’s shoulders before had felt… nice? Especially since Daryl knew that Negan wasn’t afraid of killing people. He’d killed multiple people with his bat before and Daryl was pretty sure the older man had plenty of other weapons. If all the people here saw Negan as their leader then well, the man must be dangerous in some ways.

Daryl actually forgot about the pain for a little while until the door of the house opened again and Negan came back in. He’d brought two other people, the guy he’d seen before named Dwight and someone else too.

“You didn’t move!” Negan smiled. “That’s good,” he said as he walked over to the Sub, grabbing him by his arm and pulling him up from the floor. “You’ve met Dwight before,” the Dom said as he gestured towards the man with the partially burned face, and then to the other one. “This is Simon. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to built this place.”

“Now, you’re probably going to hate what’s going to happen next. But that’s alright because it’s something that has to be done, you’ll understand eventually,” the Dom sighed as he wrapped his arm around the boy once more, squeezing him close.

Daryl could feel the warmth of Negan’s body against his own with how close the man was. Negan’s words made him shudder and feel afraid. What the hell was that supposed to mean? What were they going to do to him?

“Simon and Dwight are here to make sure you won’t be able to escape,” the leader said as he pushed Daryl into the direction of the other men.

The young Sub shivered as he looked at both the older men, the grins on their faces didn’t make him feel any more comfortable either.

“Alright, let’s get this over with,” the older man said as he pushed Daryl towards the kitchen, both his men following him instantly. “Now, I can’t get it over my heart to do this to you myself,” he continued as he picked the boy up and sat him down on the massive island in the middle of his kitchen. “Simon, if you would do the honors.”

Before Daryl knew it Negan climbed onto the island as well and got on top of him. The Dom was sitting on Daryl’s tied up hands and chest as he looked at the boy’s face. Then Dwight got onto the island as well and sat down on Daryl’s legs. Daryl’s body was uncomfortably pressed into the cold marble and Daryl could feel himself starting to panic; why did he need to be held down?

“Just bite down on this,” Negan whispered to the boy as he grabbed a piece of cloth and shoved it in Daryl’s mouth.

Daryl really started to panic now, he felt dizzy, nauseous and needed to get away. He tried to wriggle himself free but his small body could do nothing against the two bigger, heavier men on top of him.

“Alright here we go, Simon, please?” Negan said as he nodded towards where his barbed wire bat was sitting against one of the kitchen counters. “Try not to make too much noise alright?”

Because of the two men sitting on top of him Daryl couldn’t see much. All he could see was Simon raise the bat up over his head, bring it down and then-

**BANG!**

Daryl cried out in pain, the cloth in his mouth almost choking him as he did so. Tears instantly formed in his eyes and his body jerked, needing to get away. The pain on his ankle was horrendous and it shot through Daryl’s body like a bullet.

“I’m sorry boy,” Negan mouthed so that it was only visible to the young Sub underneath him. For some reason he felt really sorry for the boy, he’d never had this with anyone else before.

**BANG!**

Daryl’s body jerked at the impact of the blow. He cried out in pain once more but the cloth in his mouth kept the worst of the noise down. He nearly choked on it and on his own spit and he started coughing which was damn near impossible with these men on top of him.

“He needs some air!” Negan demanded and himself and Dwight released pressured almost immediately.

Negan pulled the piece of cloth from the Sub’s mouth and watched as Daryl gasped for air.

“Please,” Daryl cried out between coughs.

“Please what?” Simon frowned. “More?”

“No!” Daryl whined, tears rolling down his face. “Please stop!”

“Can’t do that, boy,” Negan sighed. He didn’t like seeing the boy in this much pain, he hated how he could smell the Sub’s fear and pain, but there was no other way. “We have to finish what we’ve started here.”

“You’re messing up Negan’s kitchen floor with all that blood,” Simon laughed as he looked at the blood dripping from the boy’s tiny legs.

Daryl was flabbergasted at that and couldn’t get any noise to come out of him except from groaning and sniffling.

“Finish it, Simon, no need to make this last longer than it needs to,” Negan gestured at his man before putting the cloth back into Daryl’s mouth. “Just a few more, he’ll be quick now,” the Dom said as he placed a gentle hand on the Sub’s cheek.

“Alright, alright,” Simon nodded and he brought the bat back down to the boy’s ankles with force, watching him jerk and hearing him cry out.

“Thank fuck we got some strong marble here,” Simon laughed as he brought the bat down again. Daryl fit perfectly onto the island as well, his head just at the top of it and his feet just at the edge, it was perfect for what they were doing to him.

Simon brought the bat down a couple more times, until he couldn’t really see what he was doing anymore because of the blood. Daryl managed to spit out the cloth, Negan let him, and was now screaming in pain.

“I’m sorry, boy, it had to be done,” the Dom sighed as he gestured for Simon to step away. Once Simon did he got off of the boy and pushed Dwight off as well.

Even though Daryl was in excruciating pain, he felt a little bit of relief when the two men finally got off of him and he could actually breath again. He gasped for air and his chest heaved as he filled his lungs again with oxygen.

“Well, let’s see if this worked,” Negan said as he walked over to Daryl, sat him up on the island before scooting him over to the edge and putting him down with his feet on the floor. He was supporting the boy’s weight by holding him, but he needed to test if it had worked. “Three, two, one,” he counted down and let go of Daryl, watching to see if the boy could still stand on his feet.

“Ah!” Daryl screamed out as the Dom let go of him and his weight was on his own feet again. The pain was the worst thing he’d ever felt and he instantly dropped to the floor, hitting it with his head. His body was shaking as he just laid there, crying and looking at his own feet. This was the first time he’d looked as his messed up ankles. There was so much blood and it was disgusting, Daryl couldn’t help but vomit on the floor right there and then.

“Oi, don’t mess up his floor!” Dwight hissed and gave Daryl a kick to the back, watching the boy’s body jerk.

“Dwight!” Negan glared at the man. “You don’t get to touch him unless I give you orders to do so, got it?”

“Yes, sir,” Dwight nodded and backed off instantly, he didn’t even want to think about what Negan would do to him if his leader wasn’t happy with him anymore.

“Now, if you two would be so kind as to clean up my kitchen, I have other things to do,” Negan said as he grabbed a towel, wrapped it around the boy’s bleeding legs and picked him up. “I’m sorry, Daryl, this had to be done.”

Daryl didn’t have the strength anymore to move and he let the older man pick him up. All he could feel was the pain in his legs and the pain in his head but he was even too exhausted to cry any longer. The struggle with the two men had taken a toll on him and he could barely keep his head up, which he ended up resting against Negan’s chest.

“It’s okay, I will take care of you now,” the Dom whispered as he carried the boy up the stairs, knowing Dwight and Simon would take care of the mess in the kitchen.

The Dom walked through his bedroom and then into his bathroom, carefully putting the shaking boy down on the closed lid of the toilet, careful of his beaten legs.

“I didn’t like that either,” Negan sighed as he kneeled in front of the toilet and grabbed a knife from his pocket, cutting through the ropes that bound the Sub’s hands together.

Daryl glared at the older man as he spoke; if he didn’t like what had just happened, then why did he order Simon to do it? But as scared as Daryl was, he didn’t feel like Negan wanted to hurt him, even after what had just happened. The Dom hadn’t done it himself after all.

“I just can’t have you trying to escape,” the Dom smiled sadly as he put the knife back in his pocket and moved his hands to the button of the boy’s pants; they needed to come off so he could properly treat the Sub’s injuries.

Daryl shivered as Negan’s rough hands touched the sensitive skin of his belly. He thought of punching the man in the face, he really did, but it would be a stupid move as Negan would either kill him or hurt him even more. Besides, there was something about Negan that made the Sub feel… obedient. He couldn’t just punch this man that was helping him, right?

“I get that you’re upset,” Negan spoke as he opened the button of Daryl’s pants and then unzipped it before carefully taking it off the boy’s legs. The Sub had she skinniest legs Negan had ever seen and maybe they’d been too rough on these fragile legs.

“You will understand eventually,” the Dom nodded as he got up to grab some supplies.

Daryl’s eyes followed the man as he rummaged through some drawers. Even if Daryl could hit Negan and try to get away, where would he go? He couldn’t even get down the stairs without injuring himself any further and to be quite honest he didn’t _want_ to leave Negan’s side.

“You don’t have to ignore me, boy,” Negan said as he kneeled back down, setting a small tub of water down beside them. “I’m trying to take care of you, don’t you see?” Negan dipped a cloth in the water, squeezed out the excess and used one of his hands to hold the back of Daryl’s ankle as he used the other to gently wipe off the blood. 

Daryl clenched his jaw and groaned in pain at his leg being touched. He was glad that the Dom made an effort to be careful. The Sub could barely believe that these gentle hands belonged to the same man who’d also bashed people’s head in with a bat wrapped in barbed wire.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Negan crooned as he worked carefully. “Once you’re all bandaged and cleaned up, I’ll get you some painkillers, a proper meal and some sleep.”

Daryl frowned as he watched the older man work on his other leg now. His lower legs already started to swell up, especially his ankles where most of the damage was dealt.

“There we go, all clean,” Negan smiled a little and reached for the butterfly stitches. “I’m sorry if I hurt you,” the Dom sighed a little as he started pinching the boy’s skin together and applying the butterfly stitches.

Daryl flinched a couple of times while the older man attended to his bleeding wounds, closing the worst ones that were nasty cuts made by the barbed wire of the bat.

“It’s probably hard for you to believe this, but… I really didn’t enjoy watching that happen to you,” Negan shook his head. “I’m usually fine with bashing in heads, disfiguring limbs… I couldn’t even do this myself, had to get Simon to do it to you. I felt bad keeping you down though.”

“Sure as hell didn’t seem like it,” Daryl spat out.

“You have to understand that I couldn’t show that in front of my men,” the Dom frowned. “They’ll think of my fondness for you as a weakness, can’t have that.”

Daryl remained quiet now and glared at the Dom. If Negan really didn’t enjoy what had just happened, then why didn’t he just not order Simon to do it?

“Why is it different when it comes to me?” Daryl asked, feeling rather confused.

“You _are_ different,” the older man smiled as he grabbed bandages and started wrapping them around Daryl’s ankles, lower legs and feet. Hopefully it would somewhat help with the swelling of the boy’s ankles.

“Why?” Daryl blushed a little, he didn’t understand.

“You just are,” Negan said as he finished wrapping the boy’s legs. “A special little Sub,” the Dom shrugged. “Haven’t met many Subs who have survived this apocalypse, you have, you’re special.”

Daryl bit his lip as he thought about what Negan had just said. Was he that special? Was he more special than any other Subs were? He knew damn well that not everyone was a Dom or a Sub, only a select few people were, but did that make him special?

“Alright, I’m gonna run you a bath,” the older man said as he got up, walked over to the bathtub and turned on the faucet. “Can’t have you being all dirty now can we?” Negan walked back over to where Daryl was sitting and grabbed the bottom of his shirt, slowly pulling it up and over the boy’s head, relieved that he seemed to work with him.

Daryl didn’t want to have a bath, he didn’t want to be undressed by the older man. Not even because he didn’t want Negan to see him naked, but because of how much he disliked his own body. He had no choice though and decided to just let Negan have his way, he was too exhausted and in pain to struggle anyway.

The Sub shivered once his shirt came off and he sat there in his underwear. He could feel himself redden with shame, he was ashamed of his hideous body.

“Fucking hell, boy,” Negan gasped. “When is the last time you’ve had a proper meal?” He had to ask, Daryl was so skinny, unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Sure, the Sub’s legs had been skinny but Negan didn’t expect this. Collarbones, ribs, chest bones, shoulder and joints literally looked like they were about to puncture through Daryl’s skin.

“I don’t remember,” Daryl whispered. “Merle always- he- he eats everything.”

“What about you?” Negan asked as he placed a gentle hand on Daryl’s side, feeling the boy’s ribs under his fingers as he moved his hand down. “Come here, I wanna know,” the Dom said as he picked Daryl up carefully and moved to stand on the scale with the boy in his arms.

“I get what’s left over, if there were any,” Daryl looked away, shivering at Negan’s touch and gasping when the man picked him up, he couldn’t deny that it was comfortable for his freezing body to be pressed against Negan. “What- what are you doing?”

“Wanna know how much you weigh,” the Dom said as he looked as the numbers on the scale. “Jesus,” he mumbled as he shook his head, feeling bad for the boy.

“What?” Daryl frowned as he looked at the Dom’s face.

“You weigh about eighty pounds Daryl,” Negan sighed.

“How- how do you know?” Daryl frowned.

“I weight about 180, with you I’m 260,” Negan said as he stepped off the scale again and set Daryl down on the toilet once more. “Really gotta get you a proper meal soon, multiple. But first we bathe you though,” Negan smiled as he slid the boy’s underwear down his legs.

The Sub blushed as his underwear was pulled down his legs and tossed aside. He hadn’t been naked with anyone like this before, except his mom when he was a little boy. The other times… well Daryl didn’t want to think about that ever again.

“Come on,” the older man said as he gently scooped the boy in his arms once more and carried him to the bathtub, lowering him into the warm water before turning off the faucet. “I know this tub isn’t too big, but that’s good because you can keep your ankles on the edge since they can’t get wet now.”

Daryl groaned as the warm water enveloped his body, it felt good on his sore joints. He closed his eyes and tried to forget about the fact that he was naked in front of a stranger. Because even though it didn’t feel weird, Negan didn’t feel like a stranger to Daryl, it was still the case. 

“There we go,” the Dom hummed contently. “You just relax, let me clean you up.” He was kneeled down beside the bathtub and reached for a washcloth, dripping some body wash onto it and bringing it down in the water to gently wash the boy’s chest, stomach, upper legs and arms.

Daryl really wasn’t sure how to feel anymore. His legs hurt like hell, so did his head, he couldn’t think clearly. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be thinking clearly at this moment. For some reason it felt like he knew Negan very well and he felt a little too comfortable around the Dom. No one would be this comfortable around the person who’d captured them and ordered for someone to hurt them, right? Yet there was something inside of Daryl that did make him feel that way.

The older man worked gently and carefully and pushed Daryl up a little bit to be able to wash his back, and that’s when the Dom saw it.

“Jesus Christ boy, who did this to you?” The boy’s entire back was covered in big, nasty scars.

“My- my dad,” Daryl stammered. “Some others,” he said and he felt cold all of a sudden even though he was in warm water. It didn’t feel right for Negan to be looking at the scars on his back. No one knew about those, or what had happened to the Sub, not even Merle. The abuse didn’t really begin until after his mother passed away when he was seven, that’s when his dad started to beat him and sell his body to strangers. Daryl had always been afraid that if he said anything, more harm would be dealt to him.

“Why?” Negan had to ask. He could feel the anger boil inside of him as he sensed the boy’s pain, the boy’s disgust at the horrible things that he’d been through.

“When I didn’t listen,” Daryl clenched his jaw as he tried his hardest not to cry. “Or when I didn’t want to- want to be used,” he said as he looked away from the Dom now. Why the hell was he telling this man all these things? Things that his own brother didn’t even know, things that no one knew about him.

“I’m sorry,” Negan said quietly, feeling bad for the boy that his father had done this to him, that his father had sold his body. Negan knew damn well what Daryl had meant when he said he’d been used. This Sub was special to Negan, this Sub was different, this Sub… felt like it was _his_ , like Daryl _belonged_ to Negan.

“Yeah, right,” Daryl huffed. “Not like you didn’t order someone to injure me, right?”

“I did,” the older man nodded. “But it was to make sure you wouldn’t escape and besides that, I’m taking care of you now, I’m sure your daddy didn’t do that?” Negan raised an eyebrow. Yes, he was a cruel man; and yes, he’d hurt plenty of people in his life, but only those who deserved it or if it was necessary. If he’d known these things about Daryl before then he probably wouldn’t have ordered Simon to crush his legs, but Daryl didn’t need to know that.

Daryl clenched his jaw as he felt new tears well up in his eyes. Negan was right; his daddy never looked after the wounds he’d caused, his daddy never made sure Daryl was okay after another evening of being used by men. When his father beat him it was always to cause harm, even when Daryl hadn’t done anything at all.

“Ah, I guess that means I’m right,” Negan grinned a little and gently washed the Sub’s back now as if the scars weren’t there. “How old were you? When your dad…”

“Sold my body?” Daryl huffed, could the man not even pronounce the words now? “It started after my mom died when I was seven and it lasted until I was twelve.”

“Did he ever tell you why he did that?” Negan asked, letting the boy’s body rest against the tub again as he cleaned out the washing cloth.

“Money,” the Sub shrugged as he sniffled, he managed to keep the tears from rolling down his face though. “Only thing I was good for apparently,” he whimpered, barely audible.

“Well, shit kid, I really am sorry,” Negan sighed. “I promise you I won’t hurt you like he did, I won’t sell your body, I’ll protect you.”

Daryl shook his head, he didn’t really care at this point, Negan might as well just kill him. He was being so vulnerable in front of this man, he’d told Negan about his past. He didn’t even know why he was this open and honest towards his captor, Negan had kidnapped him after all.

Yet it didn’t really feel like that, because Negan also took care of him; Negan was cleaning him, Negan took care of his injuries, Negan was going to feed him, Negan had provided a roof over his head, something Daryl hadn’t had for ages. Negan was doing everything a perfect Dom would do to take care of his Sub, except Daryl wasn’t Negan’s Sub, was he?

Daryl’s body jerked as Negan used the washcloth to go over his private parts. It felt weird to be touched down there by someone like Negan.

“Look at you blush,” Negan chuckled. “No need for that boy.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Daryl’s face felt like it was on fire. “Just feels a little weird.”

“Just making sure you’re all clean,” the Dom spoke quietly as he now pulled the washcloth out of the water and put it with the dirty laundry. “Okay, I’m going to grab the showerhead for your hair, don’t wanna shove your head down the water,” he said as he grabbed the showerhead, turned it on and started wetting the boy’s hair.

Daryl made sure his eyes were closed as the man wet his hair and then gently massaged shampoo into his scalp.

“God your hair is dirty!” Negan had a feeling the boy hadn’t cleaned his hair since the apocalypse begun. “When did you last wash it?”

“I don’t know,” Daryl shook his head. He really didn’t know. He’d washed himself in puddles or creeks every now and then, but he knew those weren’t clean.

“Good thing I got you then,” the Dom grinned and grabbed the showerhead again, being gentle but thorough as he rinsed the boy’s hair. Once he was done with that he turned off the water and pulled the plug from the tub, watching the water slowly disappear. Negan was careful as he scooped the now wet boy in his arms again and placed him on the closed lid of the toilet once more.

Daryl groaned, his legs hurting as his body was moved by the older man. He shivered as he sat on the toilet lid, feeling relieved once the Dom wrapped a large, black towel around his small body.

“Naw, you’re cold,” Negan smiled gently as he used the towel to ruffle through the Sub’s hair, drying it the best he could before moving onto Daryl’s body. “Fucking hell boy, I’m scared I’ll break your bones just by touching you.”

Daryl decided to stay quiet, letting Negan do his thing. He was exhausted and in pain more than anything.

“There we go, all freshened up!” Negan smiled as he picked Daryl up once more and took him to the bedroom, placing the Sub’s naked body onto his own bed. Daryl looked so small on his massive bed, but Negan did like the look of the Sub on his bed.

“Can I- can I have my clothes?” Daryl frowned, not sure why Negan put him here naked. The bed that he was on though was huge and the fleece blanket that he was sitting on was _soft_. The bed pretty much resembled Negan, black covers for the blanket and pillows, red fleece blanket on top of that for extra warmth.

“Oh no,” the Dom shook his head. “All of your clothes were ripped, I’ll be sure to get you some new ones, for now you can put this on,” Negan said as he reached inside of a closet and tossed one of his own robes onto the bed.

Daryl was about to speak, but he remained quiet as he grabbed the robe and managed to wrap it around himself, sliding his arms through the sleeves. The soft material felt good against his skin and Negan’s scent lingered in the fabric, driving Daryl almost insane.

“I’ll be back with dinner in a little bit, okay?” Negan said as he looked down at the boy, picking him up once more to place him further onto the bed so he could sit with his back against the headboard. “You won’t try to run, right?”

“How?” Daryl raised an eyebrow, as he could go anywhere like this.

“Right,” the Dom nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

Daryl watched as the older man left the room, he now finally had some time to take in the man’s bedroom. The walls were dark and there was one window only, it had metal bars in front of it, Daryl wasn’t sure why. Extra protection for the leader? 

The Sub sighed as he got comfy in the large robe. It was black, of course, and way too big on Daryl. He took a few deep breaths and all that he could smell was _Negan_. The Dom’s scent did things to Daryl that he didn’t quite understand. He could feel tingles in his lower belly and it made his heart beat faster.

He shook his head as he tried to focus on the room once more. The room was _large_ and the Dom’s massive bed was in the center of it. In front of the bed was a small black sofa with red pillows on it, that really seemed to be Negan’s taste; black and red. There was also a built in closet, which Daryl suspected held all of the man’s clothes.

Beside the bed were two nightstands, both had three drawers and a small light on top of them. Daryl couldn’t help but wonder which side of the bed belonged to Negan, that’s where he wanted to be most. The boy soon found out which side belonged to the leader; the left side smelled like the man way more than the right side did and so the Sub scooted over, his legs hurting as he did so. He got comfortable and propped up a pillow for his back, maybe this place wasn’t so bad after all.

When Daryl almost dozed off to sleep he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and a few seconds later the door to the bedroom opened and Negan walked in with a tray of food that smelled _delicious_.

“I hope you like spaghetti,” Negan said as he walked in, kicking the door shut with his foot. He realized that Daryl had moved to his side of the bed and he couldn’t help but grin a little. “Here you go,” he bent down and set the tray on the boy’s upper legs.

“Thank you,” Daryl whispered quietly as he looked at the food on the tray, it actually looked delicious.

“You’re welcome,” Negan smiled as he walked over to the sofa, sitting down on it and resting his right ankle on his left knee, watching the boy in his bed. “Go on then boy, eat.”

Daryl nodded and looked at the tray on his legs again, grabbing the fork and knife that were placed beside the plate as he started to eat, only very small bites at first, he didn’t want to overwhelm his stomach.

“Good boy,” the Dom praised the Sub as he watched him eat. “In the glass is just water by the way, that pink tablet is a painkiller for your ankles, up to you whether you want to take it or not.”

Daryl stopped chewing for a moment and frowned as he looked at the tablet. How could he know for sure that it was a painkiller? What if Negan gave him something toxic? But then he could have also poisoned the spaghetti. He thought for a second but decided to take the tablet anyway and he quickly swallowed it with water before continuing to eat.

As delicious as the spaghetti was, Daryl already felt full after having only eaten about one third of what was on the plate. “I’m full,” he mumbled as he set the tray beside him on the bed.

“Full? Or don’t you like my spaghetti?” Negan frowned.

“No, I really enjoyed it!” Daryl nodded quickly, he did really like it. “I’m just- I feel really full… I don’t want to get sick.”

“I guess that makes sense, you haven’t eaten properly in a while, shouldn’t make you this much next time,” the older man nodded. “I’m glad you enjoyed it though,” he said as he got up from his chair and grabbed the tray from the bed, making his way back to the door. “You should get some sleep now, it’s late.”

“Where- where will you go?” Daryl asked, feeling worry take over him at the thought of Negan leaving him here alone.

“I’m just taking the dishes downstairs,” the Dom chuckled a little.

“Where will you sleep?” Daryl frowned.

“On the sofa,” Negan nodded. As much as he wanted to sleep in his own bed, it was Daryl who needed it most and Negan wasn’t sure if the boy would appreciate his company in bed and that was totally fine.

“Okay,” the Sub nodded and bit his lip as he moved to lay down, his legs hurting as he did so. It wasn’t easy to get his legs in a comfortable, painless position, but once he did he pulled the blankets over him. It was nice to finally be in a soft bed with warm blankets covering his body and it didn’t take very long at all for Daryl to fall asleep. 

When Negan came back from doing the dishes and talking to his men for a little while the Sub was peacefully asleep, holding the blankets close. The Dom smiled as he walked over to his bed and ran a gentle hand through the boy’s now clean hair, it was soft. 

He sighed as he bent down to grab another blanket from underneath the bed before sitting down on the sofa, taking off his boots. He’d miss his bed, his comfortable bed, but he would stay on the sofa for as long as needed. He wanted the Sub to have his bed for now, Daryl was completely broken and _needed_ comfort, comfort from Negan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think of this chapter, your feedback/support means a lot to me <3


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the wonderful [FandomLifeTookMyHandAndSaidRUN](http://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomLifeTookMyHandAndSaidRUN/pseuds/FandomLifeTookMyHandAndSaidRUN/works) for being my amazing beta reader <3
> 
> Thanks to [Bennyhatter](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Bennyhatter/pseuds/Bennyhatter/works) for helping me get the book bits started <3

When Negan woke up the next morning it wasn’t because he was fully rested, it was because a thunderstorm was headed towards them. The noise would probably keep him awake, but he could rest some more. Just as he was about to turn around on the sofa he noticed Daryl’s body jump when lightning lit up the room.

Then he remembered that Daryl was in his bed and the scent of fear took over the room; Daryl was terrified. Another crack of thunder rolled through the room and Daryl whimpered as he pulled the blankets over himself even tighter; no amount of blankets would ever make him feel safe during a thunderstorm though.

Daryl was a shivering mess and he couldn’t get himself to look away from the window, he _had_ to make sure he saw the lightning before hearing the thunder. He was so focused on the window that he hadn’t heard Negan move and all of a sudden the mattress dipped behind him. His body jerked as he tried to turn and look, but he hissed in pain as he put too much weight on his ankles. 

“Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Negan whispered quietly.

The Sub’s eyes widened as he felt Negan crawl under the blankets with him. He could feel the panic start to rise in his chest and then another crack of thunder rolled through the room, significantly louder this time. Damn it! He’d been so focused on the Dom that he forgot to pay attention to the window.

“Please, I don’t want to,” Daryl whined, clenching the blankets with his fists.

“Don’t want what?” Negan frowned a little, he didn’t understand the boy. 

“I don’t- I don’t want what you want,” the Sub shook his head, worried that he was about to relive the abuse of his childhood.

“Is that really what you thought I was gonna do?” Negan clenched his jaw, this boy _really_ had been through too much for his age.

“Were- were you not?” Daryl asked and watched as another flash of lightning lit up the room, he couldn’t help but jump.

“No, I was not,” the Dom shook his head and moved a little closer.

Daryl gasped as he felt Negan’s body against his back and only seconds after that he felt the Dom’s arm wrap around him carefully; he wasn’t used to a touch as gentle as this. Negan’s hand then rested on Daryl’s chest and the Sub couldn’t help but take a few deep breaths, he was calming down a little bit.

“It’s okay, I’m here, I’ve got you,” Negan mumbled as he pulled the boy against him. “You don’t have to be afraid.”

“I hate storms!” Daryl whined as his body kept jumping at the thunder and lightning.

“Can you turn around so you’re facing me?” Negan asked, hoping he could get Daryl’s eyes away from the window.

“Why?” Daryl asked, not wanting to look away.

“I think it’ll help,” the Dom said. “And I’ll be able to talk to you a little bit better.”

The Sub nodded and groaned as he turned around, his legs aching as he was now on his other side, facing Negan.

“There we go,” the Dom smiled as his hand now rested on the boy’s back, the only thing separating their skin still was the robe. “Why are you so afraid of storms?”

“I just- I hate them,” Daryl said quietly and then jumped at another crack of thunder. The storm was getting closer and closer.

“What’s happened that made you hate them?” Negan asked, moving his hand to the boy’s head now, running gentle fingers through the soft hair.

“My dad used to- he used to lock me out of the house at night and-”

“No need to say more,” the Dom said as he understood what had happened to the Sub. “I’ve got you though, we’re safe inside,” he gently moved his hand to Daryl’s neck, rubbing his fingers in circles.

“Still freaks me out though,” the Sub pouted and just as he said that lightning lit up the room and instantly a crack of thunder rolled through. It was loud, very loud and Daryl couldn’t help but shake. 

“I’ve got you,” Negan crooned as he now wrapped both of his arms around the boy, hugging him tightly. Him being a Dom meant he could sense how a Sub close to him felt, and Daryl was absolutely terrified. The scent of the boy’s fear filled the room and Negan didn’t like it. 

“I’m sorry,” the Sub whimpered, feeling the tears form in his eyes. Why was he crying!? Why was Negan being this nice to him and why did he like it?

“You don’t have to apologize to me, boy,” the Dom whispered as he pulled the Sub in even closer, resting his own chin on the boy’s head.

He felt so bad for Daryl, he never felt like this before; Daryl was a special Sub indeed. It seemed to Negan that Daryl was _his_ Sub, like they were made for one another. But Daryl was so young? Not that it mattered much anyway in this messed up world.

Daryl tried to focus on his breathing as well as Negan’s scent and he could finally feel himself calm down a little bit. The thunder still freaked him out and he still jumped whenever yet another crack of thunder rolled through the room, but he was less shaky and didn’t feel as terrified anymore.

“There we go,” Negan smiled as he also noticed the Sub was calming down now. The scent of fear lessened and the boy stopped shivering as much. He was now able to let go of Daryl a little, still keeping one arm around the boy’s smaller body but not squeezing him close as much. “See, it’s not too bad.”

“How- how come it helps so much?” Daryl asked quietly. He’d tried many things to conquer his fear of thunderstorms, but none seemed to help. Now he was here in Negan’s arms, who was practically still a stranger to him even though it didn’t feel that way, and he actually felt okay during the storm.

“I erm- that’s- that’s hard to explain,” the Dom frowned a little. Was he supposed to tell this boy that they were ‘probably meant to be’? Daryl was going to freak out and think Negan was a weirdo. Hell, the kid would probably try to run. 

“Why?” Daryl frowned a little, he just wanted to know.

“It’s- It’s because I’m a Dom and you’re a Sub,” Negan then said, looking at the boy.

“My brother is a Dominant too,” the Sub protested.

“He’s family,” Negan said. “And it doesn’t work for every Dom and Sub.”

“It doesn’t?” Daryl was very confused now. He’d forgotten about the storm though as they had had the roughest bit and the thunder was getting softer again.

“It’s- It’s complicated,” the Dom said as moved to sit up a little. “I’ll explain it some other time. I should get us breakfast.” Just as Daryl was about to say something Negan started talking again. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“I- I don’t know,” the Sub shook his head in confusion as he also tried to sit up in the bed.

“I can make pancakes?” Negan suggested as he helped the boy sit up.

“Really?”

“Mhm,” the older man nodded. “I can make whatever you’d like.”

“Pancakes sound okay,” Daryl said quietly. “Not too many though cause I don’t know if-”

“Got it,” the Dom interrupted the boy, he knew not to get Daryl too much food all at once. “Will you be okay now?” Negan asked, the thunder was far, far away again and not very loud anymore. You could still hear it rumbling in the distance but that was about it.

“Yeah, unless it gets worse again,” the Sub frowned as he pulled the blanket up a bit.

“If it gets worse again I’ll come right back, okay?”

“Okay.”

Negan smiled as the boy nodded before getting out of the bed and stretching, his bones cracking as he did so. He then left the room and headed downstairs, ready to make the two of them some breakfast.

Daryl sighed as he now moved the blankets down again, looking at his bandaged up ankles. There were some red spots on the bandaging, probably blood from wounds that hadn’t fully stopped bleeding yet. 

He tried to pull his legs up to get a better look but the pain was too much. 

“Ah,” he hissed as he put his legs back down; that wasn’t going to work. He sighed deeply as he thought about the situation.

He was currently sitting in the bed of a Dom who had captured him the day before. He was sitting in the bed of a Dom who’d ordered someone to bash his ankles in. He had been _cuddling_ with that Dom just moments before, that Dom had been able to calm him down during a thunderstorm, something that terrified him more than anything.

In his mind Daryl knew that there was something so wrong about this, so extremely wrong. Yet he couldn’t help but feel so good. He’d felt so good in the older man’s arms, so comfortable, so at home. More at home even than he’d ever felt at his actual home when he was little.

Before Daryl could think everything through there was a knock on the door and Negan came back in with a tray of food, just like the night before. Had Daryl really been lost in his own mind for so long?

“There you go, pancakes and some fruit,” the Dom smiled as he set the tray down on the boy’s legs.

“Thank you, Negan,” the Sub said quietly as he looked at his plate. He grabbed his knife and fork and started cutting into the two pancakes that were covered in syrup. He should be able to manage two medium sized pancakes and some fruit, right? He brought the fork to his mouth and tasted the most delicious pancakes he’d ever tasted. 

“You’re more than welcome,” Negan nodded at the Sub as he walked over to the large built in closet, going through some clothes to try and find something that would fit Daryl. “I will show you around today, I think you’ll like seeing what I’ve built up over the past few years.”

“Okay,” the Sub nodded as he slowly ate his pancakes. “These are really nice,” he said as he looked over at the older man.

“Thank you,” Negan smiled as he grabbed some clothes and turned back to face the Sub. “I’m glad you like them.”

Daryl was quiet for a little while now, until he finished his pancakes and grabbed the bowl of fruit. That’s when he realized Negan wasn’t eating anything himself, nor had he yesterday. “Don’t- don’t you need to eat?” Daryl frowned as he took a biteful of the fruit.

“I already have,” the Dom said as he smiled at the boy, it was nice that Daryl thought of him. “No need to worry.”

Once Daryl finished his bowl of fruit Negan took the tray away again and held the clothes that he found up. “Think these will look nice on you.”

 _Look nice on you_ , did Negan really just say that? The Sub looked at the clothes and nodded, jogging pants and a big, black sweater. 

“Alright let’s get you in them,” the Dom said as he helped Daryl scoot over to the edge of the bed. Then he helped the Sub out of his robe and pulled the sweater over Daryl’s head. It was one of Negan’s own sweaters, making it way too big for Daryl to begin with, but he looked cute wearing it. 

Negan then carefully moved the pants over the boy’s ankles, being gentle as he did so, he didn’t mean to hurt the boy any more. 

“No- no underwear?” Daryl frowned as Negan pulled the pants over his bum.

“Don’t have any your size,” Negan shrugged.

“These clothes aren’t exactly my size either,” the Sub bit his lip, did Negan not want him to wear underwear?

“You will survive without,” the Dom then said as he put some socks on Daryl before picking him up from the bed, holding him close and taking a deep breath. Daryl’s own scent was delicious, a mixture of vanilla and chocolate and now also a little bit of Negan.

Daryl chuckled to himself as he wrapped his arm around Negan’s neck; the Dom just didn’t want him wearing underwear. 

“Alright,” Negan said as he carried Daryl down the stairs and put the boy in a wheelchair. “This will be a lot easier to show you around,” the Dom smiled as he got behind the wheelchair.

“Where- where did you get a wheelchair from?” Daryl frowned. He hadn’t seen it in the house before.

“Our doctor’s office, I will show you,” the older man opened the door and pushed the wheelchair out, closing the door again behind him and heading towards the community’s makeshift doctors office.

The Sub looked around the neighbourhood and was amazed by how well maintained all the houses looked. When he’d gotten here yesterday evening he hadn’t been able to see much because it was dark. 

The houses were neat, the streets were neat, it almost looked like it was a normal, pre-apocalypse neighbourhood, except for the tall fencing around the place and the people guarding those. 

“This is our doctor’s office,” Negan said as he walked into the building that had previously been a gathering place for the town. “Doctor Carson is here at all times, he lives right above here so he can be down here within seconds if needed.”

“Where did you get all of this equipment?” Daryl asked as he looked around. There were a lot of medical supplies inside the building as well as medication.

“We found a hospital once, the dead had taken over the place. We managed to kill them all and well, we took all the supplies,” the Dom explained as he showed Daryl around the place.

“Wow,” Daryl gasped as he thought about how much work all of that must have been for Negan and his people.

After that Negan showed Daryl the entirety of the community that he had built. The fields they grew their food, the house that had been converted into somewhat of a grocery store; items had prices still and people were allowed to spend an X amount of money a week, everything was written down in a large book. 

Negan showed Daryl where weapons were kept and where things were built and last but not least he took Daryl to the library.

“Books?” Daryl frowned, he hadn’t really heard of anyone having an interest in books during the apocalypse anymore. Now that he saw all the books though he kind of wanted to read some as well. 

“Yep, you’d be surprised how many people actually go to our little library,” the Dom smiled as he rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Negan?” 

Daryl’s eyes flew open as he recognized the man’s voice. It was Simon; the man who had ruined his ankles the day before.

“It’s okay,” Negan whispered to the boy as he gently squeezed his shoulder. “He won’t hurt you now.”

Daryl nodded and he couldn’t help but somewhat rest his head against Negan’s arm, needing the comfort of the Dom.

“Can I speak to you for a moment?” Simon asked as he casually stood in the doorway, acting as if nothing had happened, as if he’d never hurt Daryl the way he did. 

“Of course,” the Dom nodded as he let go of the Sub’s shoulder. “You can pick out some books if you’d like,” he said to Daryl before wandering off into another room with Simon.

The Sub nodded and for the first time put his hands on the wheels of the wheelchair, moving himself closer towards the books slowly to be able to have a better look. There were so many books that Daryl didn’t even know where to begin. He wasn’t sure whether these books were in any kind of order, or whether they were sorted in groups. 

“Can I help you perhaps?” A young woman asked as she came walking over to Daryl.

The lady startled Daryl a little bit, as he hadn’t seen her there at all. “I erm- I’m looking for all the informative books,” the Sub said quietly, afraid to look directly at the woman.

“Ah, I see,” the woman smiled. “Want me to push you there? I saw you struggle with the wheelchair just now.”

“Yes, pl- please,” Daryl blushed. The woman had seen him struggle to move himself around with the wheels, how embarrassing. 

“Alright, here you go,” the woman said as she pushed Daryl to the section that held all the non-fiction books. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you,” the Sub smiled a little and looked at the giant wall of books in front of him. At the top was a handmade sign that said ‘hunting’. He read the titles of the books and soon found some that appealed to him; ‘ _How to Skin a Deer_ ’ and ‘ _1000 Ways to Cook a Squirrel_ ’. He wondered how many people have read those now that they were living in an apocalypse. Everyone should have read it in Daryl’s opinion. 

The Sub heard the door to the room Negan disappeared into open again, just as his eyes fell on a book in the next section, ‘human bodies’: ‘ _Dominants and Submissives_ ’. He quickly pulled it from the shelf and put it below all the other books, making sure Negan wouldn’t know he had that specific book. 

He’d known he was a Submissive, but he never really learned much about what it actually meant. He knew that Submissives and Dominants were supposed to get together, that was the way nature intended it, but he never really learned anything else. 

His parents were just… ‘normal’. Merle had been a Dom and Daryl had been a Sub. Merle had always been an asshole though and Daryl expected all Doms to be like that, until he met Negan. In many ways Negan was an asshole, but not to Daryl and that’s what mattered most to the young boy.

“Ready to head home?” Negan asked as he got behind the wheelchair again. 

_Home_ , Negan had just called his place home for Daryl as well. “Yes,” the Sub smiled as he held onto his books tightly. It was weird how Negan’s place actually felt like home to Daryl.

“Alright,” Negan said as he started pushing the wheelchair again, heading towards his house. He had something planned for Daryl now that the Sub had pretty much been away from his brother for 24 hours.

Daryl looked around a bit more now, seeing a few children play on the streets. “How many children are here?”

“Only four,” the Dom stated as he got to his house, opened the door and pushed Daryl inside. “One of them was born here.”

“Four is more than what I’ve seen,” the Sub said as he held onto his books tightly.

“It’s not always easy to keep them safe, but we do our best.” Negan sighed. “You’re still a kid as well,” he then added.

“I can easily take care of myself though,” Daryl protested, he’d been pretty much on his own ever since his mom passed away.

“Never said you couldn’t,” Negan chuckled a little as he took the books from Daryl, placed them on a table and picked the boy up, carrying him in his arms.

“Where are we going?” Daryl frowned as Negan went through a door and then down some stairs, stairs that Daryl didn’t know were there. 

“Basement,” the Dom said as he turned on the lights. “Been 24 hours since you’ve last seen your brother.”

“So?”

“Time to claim what’s mine,” Negan grinned as he put the boy on a metal table that was in the middle of the room.

“What- what do you mean?” Daryl asked as he watched Negan pull a knife from his pocket.

Negan could sense fear, but not as much as he had this morning, during the thunderstorm. “Do you trust me?”

“I don’t- I don’t know anymore,” the Sub whispered as he looked at the knife with wide eyes; what the hell was Negan going to do to him?

“Do you trust me?” Negan asked again as he stepped in closer, standing between Daryl’s legs now that were hanging off the edge of the table.

“Yeah,” Daryl nodded as he looked up into the Dom’s eyes, he _did_ trust Negan, even with that goddamn knife in his hands. 

“Good, then I don’t need to tie you down,” the older man said as he gently pushed Daryl until he was lying on his back on the table. 

“Are you going to hurt me?” Daryl asked, but he wasn’t scared for some reason. He probably should be, he knew that, but after what had happened this morning he couldn’t help but feel safe around Negan. 

“Just a little bit,” the Dom smiled gently as he pushed Daryl’s shirt up a little bit and pushed the waistband of his pants down just slightly. “I’ll be quick.”

Daryl clenched his jaw as he watched the Dom bring the knife closer and closer to his skin, until the sharp point of it touched his skin. His muscles tensed as he felt the knife slice through his skin, it was only a very small cut though before Negan changed the angle of the knife and made another cut and then a third one. 

“There we go,” the Dom smiled. “All done.”

Daryl sat up as he looked at the new wound right beside his hip bone; a perfect ‘N’ cut into his skin. “Why- why did you do this?” 

“Now your brother can’t have you anymore,” Negan said as he put his knife away again. “You know you handled that very well.”

“I didn’t- didn’t feel like you would… you know,” Daryl mumbled.

“Didn’t feel like I would what?” Negan asked as he picked the boy up from the table.

“I knew you wouldn’t _really_ hurt me,” the boy admitted as he rest his head against the Dom’s chest.

“I’m glad you knew that,” Negan nodded as he carried the boy back up the stairs and into the kitchen now. “I will clean this now, make sure it’ll heal nicely.”

“Okay,” Daryl said as he was being placed onto the kitchen counter by the older man. 

Things were weird, Daryl’s life was weird. He knew damn well that none of this was considered ‘normal’, but it all just felt so _good_. Negan felt good, being near the man felt good, having been cuddled close by the man felt good and even the man cutting into his skin had… felt good. 

What Negan had done, cutting that ‘N’ into Daryl’s skin, he’d done that to make sure Merle wouldn’t get his brother back, not even if he tried. Negan had done that to mark the boy as his. 

The dom hummed quietly as he carefully dabbed the wound clean, getting rid of the blood and looking at the perfect ‘N’ he’d cut into the boy. He’d marked Daryl as his, in a different way than he would have liked though. Yes, Daryl now had the ‘N’ permanently on his body which meant that he _belonged_ to Negan. But Negan wanted to _claim_ the boy, the Dom in him had to claim the Sub. He couldn’t do that though, at least not yet.

“All good,” the Dom smiled as he put the bandaid over the cuts he made an then gently pulled the waistband of Daryl’s pants up again.

“Did you- did you really _have_ to do that?” Daryl bit his lip as he asked, looking down at his bandaged ankles.

Negan grinned a little and used his hand to gently lift up Daryl’s chin, making the boy look at him. “No, but I like to mark what is mine,” he smirked as he watched the boy’s face turn red. “Besides, it looks pretty on you.”

“So, what is something you enjoy doing in your spare time?” Negan asked as he stepped away from Daryl and rummaged through some kitchen cabinets, thinking about what he could make for dinner this time.

“I don’t really know,” Daryl admitted shyly as he fumbled with his hands now. He never actually had much time to himself, to be able to do things that he would enjoy.

“We gotta figure that out then don’t you think?” Negan said but then sighed. “What do you want to eat boy?”

“What can we eat?” Daryl asked, looking over at the older man.

“Anything you want,” the Dom grinned.

“Grilled cheese sandwich,” Daryl blurted out without really thinking. For some reason it was just something he craved all of a sudden. 

“Grilled cheese sandwich, hm,” the older man repeated, a little surprised by what the boy picked but he would do that for Daryl. “We can do that, with a nice bowl of tomato soup.”

“Sounds good,” the boy nodded and for once he actually felt a little hungry, excited for food knowing that he would be having a grilled cheese sandwich soon. 

“Alright then,” Negan said as he picked the boy up once more, walking over to the sofa with him and putting him down. “I’ll make dinner, you read some of your books,” he said as he grabbed the books from the table and placed them in the boy’s lap.

Daryl nodded and blushed when Negan held the books in his hands; hopefully he didn’t see the one about Dominants and Submissives, he didn’t mention anything though.

Once Negan was in the kitchen again Daryl instantly grabbed the book about Dominants and Submissives and opened it up. He could still see Negan from where he was sitting, so if the Dom was to come back to the living room Daryl could quickly grab another book and pretend to be reading in that one.

He flipped through the book a little bit before his eyes fell on a chapter titled "Classifications". His eyes immediately fell to the Dominant class and he bit his lip before he started to read.

_It is universally known that the Dominant class are larger and stronger than the other classification. They are broader and more powerful than the Submissive, a trait that has been passed through the centuries from the Ice Age, when man was wild and had to fight to survive, as well as to prove his worth to potential mates. Dominants have larger, thicker genitalia and possess a knot that locks them inside the Submissive during a mating -- which is also a trait passed down from the days when a Dominant had to make sure his chosen Submissive could not slip away before the mating was complete._

Daryl had to stop for a moment to breathe as he absorbed that information.

_Once, every two to three months Dominants go into Rut; a period of time that usually lasts a few days, where Dominants feel an extreme primal need to mate. During Rut, Dominants are often a lot more aggressive, they become hunters; when their Submissives are not around they will hunt them down like prey until they finally locate them and can mate. These mating sessions tend to be a lot rougher than a usual mating session. Dominants tend to bite more, leaving their partner covered in marks to show other Dominants that the Submissive is already taken. Sometimes Dominants and Submissives make a game out of this, the Submissive, aka the prey, will try to get away for as long as possible before the Dominant gets to them and finally mates them, it won’t matter where or when that might be. Dominants release a much stronger scent than usual when in Rut, this is either to attract Submissives to mate with or if they already have a mating bond with a Submissive, to cause majorly increased hormone levels._

“Jesus,” the Sub breathed as he read the text. The things he was reading were a lot more intense than the knowledge he already possessed about Dominants.

_When a Dominant has found his soulmate he will form a mating bond with the Submissive. A mating bond is formed by a Dominant leaving a prominent biting mark in the Submissive’s neck. These marks are easily acquired by the Dominant’s sharp, vampire-like teeth. With these he easily pierces through the skin of a Submissive’s neck, showing everyone else that the Submissive is taken. Only one bite mark in the neck of a Submissive is enough to form a mating bond, however some Dominant’s prefer to leave multiple marks on their partner’s body._

_Once a mating bond is formed a Dominant becomes highly protective of his Submissive, protecting the other male with his life; the Submissive becomes the most important thing in his life._

_Another way for a Dominant to mark his Submissive is by scent marking. Dominants have scent glands on their wrists, cheeks and neck and will rub either one of these body parts over their Submissive, making sure the scent of the Dominant is noticeable on the Submissive’s body for other Dominants to smell._

Daryl bit his lip, now he knew why it smelled so good when Negan carried him in his arms, when Daryl’s face was close to the older man’s neck. It made sense how Daryl calmed down so much when the Dom had hugged him close during that thunderstorm, Daryl’s face had been right in front of the man’s neck. He continued to read as he got to the bit about Submissives.

_The Submissive class are usually shorter, smaller and less muscular than the other classification. Occasionally it does occur that a Submissive is bigger and stronger than others of his kind. Submissives have smaller genitalia as there is no need for them to lock their genitalia inside of another male, therefore they also do not possess a knot. When a Submissive becomes aroused, they self-lubricate, a trait that has been passed through the centuries from the Ice Age, when other forms of lubricant didn’t exist. Submissives have abdominal cavities that can expand more than any other person’s abdomen would be able to.This is so the Submissive would be able to hold all of the semen a Dominant can produce while locked inside of a Submissive._

The young boy frowned as he ran a hand over his belly, his could expand? He continued to read as the text intrigued him.

_Once every two to three months Submissives go into Heat; a period of time that lasts anywhere from 5 to 7 days, in which Submissives feel an extreme need to be mated. During Heat, Submissives are in a state of continuous arousal, meaning they are self-lubricating the entire time. They give off a much stronger scent than usual, either to attract Dominants from far away towards them or to drive their own Dominant’s urge to mate the Submissive. When a Submissive is in Heat the need to be mated can grow so intense that it causes the Submissive pain. Once a Submissive in Heat is finally mated by a Dominant that feeling of intense need will subside for a couple of hours until the Submissive’s body has recovered and is ready to be mated again. Sometimes Submissives can masturbate by inserting toys that have a knot as well to somewhat reduce the intense feeling of need that occurs when a Dominant is not in their direct surroundings. During Heat, Submissives can become playful, playing with their partners and making the Dominant work before they can mate their partner. The Submissive will essentially act like prey, trying to escape their hunter, aka the Dominant, for as long as possible. Because Dominants are much larger, stronger and faster than Submissives they will always end up getting caught and mated._

Daryl’s eyes widened and he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. He didn’t remember anything like this happening to him before, he probably hadn’t been in Heat before? Maybe he was still too young for that, he didn’t know. It didn’t sound too pleasurable though, to be in pain just because you don’t have a Dominant around. Being in Heat must be hell for Submissives in this apocalypse who didn’t have a Dominant near them or hadn’t seen a Dominant in ages.

_A mating bond is formed when a Dominant bites the Submissive on his neck, leaving a prominent mark for all other Dominants to see that this Submissive is already taken. Once a Submissive has been marked for life by their Dominant, they become far more dependant on their Dominant. They do not make their own decisions, unless forced to do so by certain circumstances. The Submissive will stay on their Dominant’s side at all times, obeying the man, no matter what._

Daryl bit his lip at the text he just read, he already felt somewhat dependant on Negan, he listened to the man and probably would do so, no matter what Negan told him to do. He’d let the man cut a massive ‘N’ into his skin without protesting after all.

_Submissives have scent glands in their wrists, necks, cheeks and genitalia. The scent glands in their genitalia are another way to draw a Dominant towards them when necessary. Dominants tend to nuzzle their partners genitalia with their face, making sure the Dominant’s scent is all over the Submissive’s genitals as a warning towards other Dominants that may come across the Submissive’s path._

Daryl blushed at some of the text but continued to read anyway, he was curious now to learn more about himself as well as Negan.

 

Once Negan finished dinner for himself and the Sub he decided to have dinner in the living room, Daryl was already on the sofa anyway and he didn’t want to continue dragging the boy around. He placed their bowls of soup, some milk to drink as well as a plate with grilled cheese sandwiches on a tray and took it into the living room, smiling when he realized Daryl had fallen asleep. 

He placed the tray on the table and started gathering the books off of the sofa, placing those neatly on the table before grabbing the one from Daryl’s lap and he couldn’t help but notice which book that was; _Dominants and Submissives_. He held the book in his hands and bit his lip, did Daryl not know much about himself as a Submissive?

Usually that book was borrowed from the library by women who were curious about the biology of their neighbours. Women often knew that there were Dominants and Submissives, but they didn’t always understand how things worked, neither did ‘normal’ men.

Negan closed the book and placed it on top of the others, sitting down beside Daryl and gently squeezing his shoulder. “Wake up boy, dinner’s ready.”

Daryl groaned as he moved a bit and slowly opened his eyes, looking at the book in his lap… except the book wasn’t there anymore. His eyes flew open as he realized the book wasn’t there, then he saw Negan and then the books on the table.

“Did you- did you,” he stammered.

“See your book?” Negan asked and smiled a little when the boy nodded. “I did see your book, yes. Nothing wrong with being a little curious.”

“I guess,” the boy nodded but he felt his face turn red. 

“Well, did you learn anything new?” Negan asked as he grabbed the tray off the table now and placed it over Daryl’s legs.

“A few things, yeah,” Daryl admitted as he looked at the bowls of soup in front of him.

“Like what?” Negan asked as he grabbed his own, fuller bowl of soup and a spoon.

“I didn’t know about erm, about knotting,” the Sub said as he grabbed a spoon and stirred through his soup. “Didn’t know about slick either.”

“You’ve never experienced that before?” Negan asked as if they were having a normal conversation, not one about something this… intimate.

Daryl shook his head as he started eating from his soup, it had cooled down a little bit now and he could eat it without burning his mouth.

“I do- I do understand now why… like… why I feel so good around you,” he blushed.

“That’s good, I’m glad,” Negan smiled warmly, loving the way they sat close together as they ate. “I feel good around you too.”

“Really?” Daryl smiled as he asked the question, no one had ever told him anything like that before.

“Definitely,” Negan nodded. “You know, you could have asked me things as well, that you wanted to know.”

“I guess I was scared,” the boy admitted.

“Why?” Negan frowned, Daryl didn’t need to be scared around him.

“Maybe you’d think I’m dumb,” the Sub shook his head.

“Never,” Negan clenched his jaw, why would Daryl think that? “So ask ahead,” he smiled.

“Knotting,” Daryl said as he finished his soup and grabbed a grilled cheese sandwich.

Negan’s eyes widened a little bit as he just managed not to choke on his soup, he didn’t necessarily expect the young Sub to ask about _that_. 

“What about knotting?”

“Well… does- does it hurt?” Daryl was curious now that he had read about knotting. A knot would inflate and stay inside of a Submissive for quite a while.

“If it’s your first time then it’s a bit sensitive yeah, but a knot is meant to form inside of someone and stay there until it’s gone down again, otherwise it does hurt,” Negan explained as he too started on his grilled cheese sandwich.

“What do you mean?”

“If a knot is pulled out while still inflated, then it’s painful.”

“That happens?” Daryl frowned, why would anyone do that?

“Some times,” the Dom nodded as he looked at the young Sub beside him.

“I wonder what it feels like,” Daryl said without really thinking about it.

The Dom bit his lip as he also thought what it would feel like to knot the boy. _Fuck._ Negan shook his head, he shouldn’t be thinking about this, should he? There wasn’t much he could do about it though. He was a Dominant and right beside him was this young, curious Submissive. 

Daryl had been through a lot though, too much if you asked Negan and he couldn’t just try and mate the Sub, he just couldn’t. He wouldn’t do anything against Daryl’s will, he could never do that. He could only hope that the boy would soon want to find out more himself.

“Have you- have you been with a Submissive before?” Daryl asked once he finished his dinner. 

“Have been with a few, never formed a mating bond though,” the Dom shrugged as he put the plates and bowls on the tray again before putting that on the table.

“Why not?”

“Never felt right,” Negan smiled as he wrapped an arm around Daryl.

“When do you know if it feels right?” Daryl asked as he leaned into Negan’s touch.

“You just know, boy. You just know, things will happen naturally,” the Dom explained as he gently rubbed Daryl’s shoulder. “I’m kind of glad your brother didn’t come for you.”

“Me too,” Daryl admitted. Yes, Merle was his brother, but he hadn’t cared for Daryl at all. Negan did though, Negan did care. It was better for the Sub to be here; weird as it was, he felt at home here. “They never cared.”

“I do,” the Dom said as he brought his arm back from the boy’s shoulder and gently ran a hand through his hair. “Didn’t expect I would care this much, but I do, I really do.”

Daryl smiled as he leaned into Negan’s touch, it meant a lot to him that the Dom cared so much about him. Negan fed him, clothed him, bathed him and had even been there for him through a massive thunderstorm.

“I’m gonna go clean this up,” Negan said as he got up and grabbed the tray from the table. “After that we can head to bed, I know you’re tired.”

“Yeah,” Daryl sighed a little as he sank back into the sofa. He really was tired from being in pain all day, his ankles were still killing him even when he sat still.

The Dom smiled a little and went to do the dishes, he liked to keep his house neat and clean. Once the dishes were done he headed back into the living room, chuckling as he realized Daryl had drifted off to sleep again. He gently picked the boy up, carrying him in his arms.

“Negan?” Daryl mumbled as he realized he was being picked up. He’d been half asleep when the man got back to him.

“Yes?” 

“Will you sleep in the big bed as well?”

“If- if you want me to,” the Dom said, a little startled by the boy’s question. 

“Mhm, is nice,” Daryl said sleepily as he snuggled against Negan’s body, his face was close to the man’s neck and he inhaled deeply, now knowing that Negan’s neck is where the man’s scent came from.

“Then I’ll sleep in the big bed as well,” Negan smiled as he walked into his bedroom, gently placing Daryl on the bed. “You good sleeping in those clothes?”

“Can- can I have a t-shirt instead?” Daryl asked. As comfortable as he was in the clothes he was wearing right now he prefered to sleep in a t-shirt.

“Yeah of course,” the Dom said as he walked over to the closet and grabbed the boy one of his t-shirts, a gray one. When Negan turned around again he chuckled as he realized Daryl had already managed to pull the hoodie over his head and tossed it on the floor. 

“Here you go,” Negan said as he walked over to the bed again and pulled the grey t-shirt over Daryl’s head. “Better?”

“Mhm,” Daryl nodded as he moved to lay down, yawning, he really was tired. 

Negan thought for a moment but then decided to take off his clothes. At this point he was pretty much sure Daryl wouldn’t mind anyway. 

The Sub’s eyes widened a little as he watched the man undress. _Fuck._ Daryl couldn’t help but blush at the fact that he couldn’t take his eyes off of Negan. The man’s chest was covered in a beautiful layer of soft fur, that trailed down perfectly to his belly and then disappeared behind the waistband of his underwear. The Sub couldn’t help but want to touch it and when the Dom came over to the bed Daryl quickly closed his eyes. 

Negan turned off the big light, only leaving on a small night lamp on the bedside table before he got into the bed as well, pulling the blankets over himself and the young boy. He grinned when he noticed that Daryl was instantly snuggling into him, the boy’s face nuzzling his chest hair which tickled. The Sub was unknowingly marking Negan with his scent, and the Dom was more than okay with that.

“Get some sleep, alright?” Negan smiled as he wrapped a careful arm around the boy, holding him close. 

“Yeah,” Daryl mumbled. “Night Negan,” he said as he took a deep breath, inhaling Negan’s scent. The Sub had never felt this comfortable before and it was a nice feeling to have, apparently all he needed was this Dom.

“Goodnight boy,” Negan smiled and with that he turned off the night lamp, hugged the boy close once more and closed his eyes; he could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you guys had to wait a little while for this chapter, but I hope you like it nonetheless! Let me know what you think in the comments ^_^


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